Angel of Music
by Primrose Angel
Summary: "Then for the next eleven years, I tried to work up the nerve to talk to you." Peeta and Katniss's school years. Written for Prompts in Panem, Round 1, Day 1: School Days.


**I only joined Tumblr and started reading fanfiction late last year, so it took me a while to become acquainted with Prompts in Panem. But eventually I did have a look, and wrote something from the fir****st prompt for fun. This is how it turned out!**

**The title is from the song in Phantom of the Opera.**

**DISCLAIMER: Hunger Games belongs to Suzanne Collins. All recognisable quotes are not mine.**

**Enjoy :)**

* * *

_Deep in the valley_,

_In the mountain air,_

_A gentle, sweet voice_

_Is bidding me there._

The moment he heard that angelic voice, he knew he was a goner.

Because that was exactly what she had always been to him. An angel. Even from the very beginning, when he spotted her and her father waiting outside the classroom, with her long, dark tresses meticulously plaited into two braids, her small hand clutching her father's calloused and rough one, her silvery eyes gleaming with excitement.

Thinking he was the only one who noticed the quiet little girl with the dark braids, he was surprised when his father pointed her out to him.

"See that little girl?" his father said. "I wanted to marry her mother, but she ran off with a coal miner."

"A coal miner?" He said in disbelief, his eyes still trained on those braids. "Why did she want a coal miner if she could've had you?"

And his father replied "Because when he sings … even the birds stop to listen." At the time, he had no doubt his father was merely exaggerating.

But then he heard her sing.

In the afternoon, he stood in line with her at the music assembly. He didn't miss the way her hand shot straight into the air when the teacher asked if anyone knew _The Valley Song_.

Mesmerised, he watched her skip to the front of the classroom, her braids bouncing merrily behind her.

"What's your name?" the teacher asked.

"Katniss Everdeen," she replied, in a loud, confident voice that captivated him.

_Katniss_, he thought, _I like it._

And then she began to sing. From the very first note, Peeta realised his father was right. Her beautiful, clear voice rang through the classroom, and he gaped in awe as her voice carried out through the open windows and the singing mockingjays outside fell silent.

* * *

He tried to talk to her every time he saw her at school, but she always seemed to be avoiding him.

Suddenly a wave of dread rushed through him. What if she thought he pitied her?

Honestly, he didn't know what was going through his head when he tossed those loaves of bread to her in the rain. Not that she needed charity, certainly.

The only thing he really knew was that he was still hopelessly in love with her.

But after school that day, when he watched her pick up her little sister, she turned and those beautiful silver irises locked into his own.

It was only a second before he turned his head away in embarrassment, unable to stop the faint blush crawling into his cheeks. But the second seemed to contain a lifetime.

When he finally worked up the nerve to glance back at her again, he saw her crouched down, plucking a single dandelion from the grass.

* * *

Many times, he saw her with her sister – a small girl with long blonde plaits and wide blue eyes – at the bakery, admiring the cakes on display in the window after school.

Every time, he felt a surge of pride at knowing the decoration on those cakes were done by his hand.

Every time, he wanted to go up to the front door and talk to her.

Every time, he tried to work up the courage to drop his work in the back room, open the front door and invite them in for a few cheese buns and a chat.

But he couldn't do it.

So he stayed exactly where he was, silently watching the two girls outside the bakery's front window, telling himself he would talk to her at school the next day.

Every single time.

* * *

He watched her once at a school sports carnival. Heck, she was fast. She easily outran all her competitors in all the sprint races, though she often took second or third place in distance races.

For him, she was perfect.

She always had been from the moment he laid eyes on her.

His favourite part was when her sister – Prim, he thought was her name – ran up to her and clung on to her with her skinny arms, a bright smile illuminating both their faces.

The look of radiant happiness on Katniss' face, something so rare since her father's death, made his heart lift.

And when she raised her head and locked those sparkling silver orbs with his, his heart melted.

He walked home that day feeling lightheaded with joy.

* * *

Chest heaving, he scanned the cheering crowd from the ring.

A proud smile was brought to his lips as he found his father, wearing an expression just as much pride. He also located his brother, whose face clearly said 'you beaten this weakling but you will never be good as me'. The sight of Delly makes his grin even wider, but the when he found the next face he recognised, his heart lurched.

Was it really her?

He shut his eyes tightly and opened them again. There was no mistaking those flawless grey eyes.

Prim stood beside her, cheering and clapping with the crowd.

Tearing his gaze away from the audience, he helped his opponent off the ground and shook hands with him.

But when he exited the ring to search for her, she had gone.

The next day, when he walked down the hall to his next class, he heard a soft voice.

Singing.

His heart rate accelerated immediately, because even after ten years, he could recognise that voice anywhere.

He stopped in his tracks and paused to admire the sweet sound.

Even after ten years, she was still an angel.

Only hours after she had stopped did he realise what she was singing.

_The clouds float from above_

_While the stream runs below;_

_Deep into the valley–_

_That is where I shall go._

* * *

**So I attempted to write my own lyrics to 'The Valley Song' - it didn't turn out very well but I tried haha**

**Thank you for reading! xoxo**


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